Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli, on a conference call discussing the move, appears to have added to the scuzziness of the whole situation: Specifically, while tweeting the relevant points from call, the Bruins' official account quoted Chiarelli as saying he'd talked trade with Isles GM Garth Snow for a few months.

That, under the terms of the lockout that ended about a month ago, was not allowed.

About 10 minutes after the tweet appeared, it was deleted. Here's a screencap of the original.

There's always the chance that the @NHLBruins account misquoted Chiarelli, but as of 7:10 p.m. ET, they hadn't clarified anything.

So, in sum, a deal designed to add phantom salary to an NHL team's books and help said team avoid paying actual players seems to have been discussed during an owner-led lockout. Okey doke.

In other relevant news, the official CBA hasn't yet been completed or signed, and games are currently being played under a memorandum of understanding.